Please improve the weather forecast: tourism operators

The Queensland Tourism Industry Council has called on weather forecasters to be more upbeat in their predictions. 

Hospitality operators in the "Sunshine State" say meteorologists are too downcast and have called for a more positive spin on daily weather forecasts.

The Council wants the Bureau of Meteorology to be more positive and replace forecasts like 'partly cloudy' with 'mostly sunny' or 'chance of rain' with 'likely sunny.'

"Weather messaging has a significant impact on weekend, spontaneous and day-trip travel plans," said QTIC chief executive Daniel Gschwind.

"We prefer the 'glass half full' option when it comes to weather reporting - for example, 'mainly sunny' is more encouraging to domestic travellers than 'chance of rain'."

Due to high temperatures and long dry spells, Gschwind said rain showers are a good thing and should be portrayed as such.

"Rain in Queensland doesn't have the same implications as the northern hemisphere. I don't think it should be framed in a bad way. It could even be described as a 'cooling down shower' or something."

Sorry, but I can't stop laughing. I wonder what the Queenslanders would make of the forecast at the top. 

Yalumba marks Signature launch with a special dinner

If you are a serious wine lover, have some cash to splash and own a dinner jacket and bow-tie then Yalumba has announced a special dinner to entice you to the Barossa Valley. 

Australia's oldest family-owned winery will celebrate the release of the 2014 vintage of The Signature Cabernet Sauvignon & Shiraz in partnership with renowned chef Jock Zonfrillo of Restaurant Orana and Bistro Blackwood. 

The diary date is Saturday, May 5, 2018, at the historic Hill-Smith family winery in the spiritual home of Yalumba’s landmark wine, The Signature Cellar, and enjoy a four-course degustation paired with Yalumba’s finest wines.

The Cabernet Sauvignon and Shiraz blend is a uniquely Australian wine and one to which Yalumba has remained true since the 1880s.

The Signature is Yalumba’s landmark style, using the best fruit of the vintage and acknowledges the people who have enhanced the culture and embodied the values of Yalumba since 1962. 

The food will be curated by Zonfrillo, one of the South Australian food scene’s brightest lights. 

For those who would like to experience more of Yalumba's history, a limited number of tickets are available for an exclusive masterclass and museum tasting with Kevin Glastonbury, current custodian and winemaker of The Signature Cabernet Sauvignon & 
Shiraz.  A bus transfer is also available from Adelaide CBD for an extra cost.

Museum Tasting: Saturday, May 5, 2-3.30pm. Gala Dinner: Saturday May 5, from 6:30pm

Yalumba Winery, 40 Eden Valley Road,  Angaston, South Australia 5353. www.yalumba.com.au. 

Father and son combine for Clare Valley flagship

Family-owned Clare Valley winery Paulett is to launch a new vintage of its flagship red - a collaboration between father Neil Paulett and son Matthew. 

Labelled 47/74 Hand Crafted, the wine is a blend of malbec and cabernet sauvignon from the 2013 vintage and will retail for $110. It hits the market next month. 

Neil Paulett, who has headed the family business with wife Alison for close to 35 years, was born in 1947 and his son in 1974, hence the name of the wine. Matthew is the vineyard manager as well as playing an increased role in the winery.

"We have tasted and blended this wine to reflect the power, unity and complexity of like wines merged into one," says Neil Paulett. "The name 47/74 reflects the mirror image of our births and symbolises the transition of the old into the new."

The wine, as you'd expect is an intense and complex beast, dark and brooding now with ripe plum and spice notes and a surprising softness on the palate. A definite cellar prospect. 

For details see www.paulettwines.com.au. 


    

Historic Hunter Valley wine landmark reopens with new branding

One of Australia’s oldest wineries is to reopen its doors for the first time in more than three years after a rigorous revival project.

Dalwood Estate, the historic winery, formerly known as Wyndham Estate, will welcome guests this weekend 190 years after it was established at Branxton in the Hunter Valley.

The French Pernod Ricard group acquired the estate in 1990 in its $73 million takeover of Brian McGuigan’s Wyndham Estate company.

The estate sat untouched after its closure in 2014 until last year when Iris Capital bought the property, adding a third winery to its Hunter portfolio alongside Hungerford Hill Wines and Sweetwater Wines.

After a major 12-month renewal program, the 260-acre property has been restored to its former glory, The Maitland Mercury reports. 

With a return to its original 1828 establishment name, Dalwood Estate boasts a heritage winery building, manicured lawns and gardens, a function centre, cellar door, restaurant, walking trails and public barbecue areas on the banks of the Hunter River.

Iris Capital general manager Craig Hibbard said the reopening was about celebrating the revival of an Australian icon. 

“It’s been a busy 12 months – imagine a 260-acre estate that hasn’t been maintained for three years – but we’re really proud of Dalwood’s transformation and we can’t wait to share it with the wider community,” Hibbard told the Mercury. “Our aim is to revive the property’s heritage and restore it to a fully operational vineyard again. 

“Dalwood Estate shares historical significance with the winemaking industry and not just in the Hunter Valley.”

Bryan Currie is the senior winemaker and general manager of Hungerford Hill, Sweetwater and Dalwood wine operations.

Family-owned Coonawarra vineyard marks organic milestone

For over 100 years the Reschke family have been living on their Koonara property in the heart of Coonawarra. 

The current family residents are Dru and Nicole Reschke with their two daughters Lucy and Alice.

After 10 years of conversion, Koonara Wines are the first vineyards in Coonawarra to be certified to Australian Organic Standards.

Coonawarra is renowned as one of Australia’s finest wine regions and is particularly known for producing world-class red wines, especially cabernet sauvignon and shiraz. 

The region's secret lies in a marriage of rich red terra rossa soil, limestone, pure underground water and a long, cool ripening season for the grapes. 

The Koonara wines are made by industry veteran Peter Douglas (formerly of Wynn's Coonawarra Estate). Both Koonara’s Coonawarra and Mount Gambier vineyards practice organic viticulture, and Coonawarra is certified organic.

All of Koonara’s red wines are aged in 100% fine-grain French oak hogshead barrels and the premium wines all contain no residual sugar, below organic levels of sulphur and a vegan friendly. 

Reschke said even though they have been practising organic viticulture for over 10 years, it was great to finally receive official certification earlier this month.

“We have not used any pesticides or herbicides in our Coonawarra vineyards for over a decade, as it can rob the soil of nearly all the good micro-fungi,” he said. “The vineyard is like our bodies; get the nutrition right and it stays healthy and disease pressure drops, and so the number of sprays needed drop as well. 

“Our aim was to increase organic material into our soil. Only 1% extra organic matter in the soil will hold an extra 177,000 litres of water per hectare, which is why we find weeds actually help, not hinder the vines.

“The root systems of weeds are usually no more than 30cm deep, when they die off at the start of summer their roots provide organic straws for oxygen and water to get deeper into the soil, which aids the vines.” 

Insects also play an important role in Koonara’s biodiversity plan. 

“We have identified five wasp and three spider varieties, and even a scorpion fly, which are all completely harmless. These insects larvae feed on our vineyard pests such as vine moth – and many of those so-called weeds are also a food source for them.” 

Two tribes go to war. Australian winemakers take on Canadians.

It's on. 

The Winemakers’ Federation of Australia (WFA) has welcomed Trade, Tourism and Investment Minister Steven Ciobo’s announcement that Australia has launched a dispute settlement action against Canada at the World Trade Organisation (WTO).

And 24 hours later New Zealand confirmed it will join Australia's complaint against Canada over allegedly “arbitrary and disadvantageous” treatment of wine imports.

WFA chief executive Tony Battaglene said the action was the first formal step in seeking to resolve long-standing Canadian measures that allegedly "discriminate" against Australian wine imports.

“Canada is Australia's fourth-most-valuable export market at around $190 million and remains a very important destination for Australian wine,” Battaglene said.

“Australia is the fifth-ranked country of origin, with a 10% total volume share of the Canadian market behind wines from the United States, Canada, Italy, and France.

“Wine sales in Canada are controlled by provincial liquor boards. In recent years, the liquor boards have introduced a number of measures that discriminate in favour of locally produced wine. We respect the Canadian wine industry, but we are seeking a level playing field to ensure we can maximise our opportunities in this key market.

“The WTO provides a rules-based system that is vital to ensure countries around the world ensure their regulations are fair and non-discriminatory. We are delighted the Australian Government has decided to take action over these issues and the winners will be Australian producers and Canadian consumers.”

On January 18, 2017, the United States launched its own WTO trade dispute settlement action against Canada regarding ‘Measures Governing the Sale of Wine in Grocery Stores’ which Australia joined as a third-party observer. 

The new Australian-led WTO action addresses these same concerns as well as others across the Canadian provinces.